In recent years developments have been made in agricultural processes which require the spreading of chemicals in liquid or granular form onto the crop at various stages during the crop's development including pre-emergene, post-emergence and pre-harvesting. Machines have been developed which are suitable for movement across the grand during these different stages. Such machines generally have a relatively high clearance so they have raised axles and relatively large narrow tires so that the tires can move over the ground without the frame of the vehicle damaging the crop and at the same time minimizing damage to the crop from impact by the wheels.
In the situation where the crop has emerged or has developed, it is desirable to provide crop dividers on at least the front wheels of the vehicle so that, ahead of the wheels, the crop is separated or divided so that it passes to restricted sides of the wheel while minimizing the damage to the crop. Various designs of a crop divider have been developed. Such crop dividers have the appearance of fenders with a relatively sharp leading edge in front of the wheel and two side surfaces which extend rearwardly from the leading edge to the respective sides of the wheel.
Until now this crop divider arrangement has generally been mounted on a bracket system attached to the support structure for the wheel on the inside of the wheel only. Generally machines of this type include a vertical axle portion of an outer end of a horizontal axle portion with a wheel hub mounted at the lower end of the vertical axle portion. In general the bracket is attached to the vertical axle portion with intention that the structure of the crop divider is supported from this bracket only.
This arrangement has had the disadvantage that the crop divider is difficult to support by this single bracket thus limiting the size and effectiveness of the crop divider which can be used.